Self-service cold storage locker



Feb. 8, 1955 M. W. PIGGOTT SELF-SERVICE COLD STORAGE LOCKER Filed July21. 1950 El i fl Lilllllll'" MORLEY 4 Sheets-Sheet l W. PIGGOTT 3rmentorI attornegfi Feb. 8, 1955 M. w. PIGGOTT SELF-SERVICE COLD STORAGE LOCKER4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 21. .1950

\ MORLEY w. mega};

attorney FebQS, 1955 w, PIGGQTT 2,701,746

SELF-SERVICE COLD STORAGE LOCKER Filed July 21, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3PIGGOTT Zhwentor MORLEY W.

FIG-5 v Gttomegs Filed July 21. 1950 Feb. 8, 1955 w, PlGGOTT 2,701,746

SELF-SERVICE COLD STORAGE LOCKER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 MORLEY}: w. PIGGOTTZ'mventor (Ittomegs Unite States Patent '0 SELF-SERVICE COLD STORAGELOCKER Morley W. Piggott, Seattle, Wash.

Application July 21, 1950, Serial No. 175,075

4 Claims. (Cl. 312-215) This invention contemplates the provision ofcold storage lockers that are normally used by the housewife for thestorage of excess frozen foods. In lockers of this order this presentinvention contemplates a locker arrangement so made that it may be madein sections in the manufacturers plant and then easily moved in partsthrough existing doorways, and the like, and to be assembled in thefinal place of use which normally will be either in, or closelyassociated with, a retail food establishment. Provision is made so that,with the minimum of expensive structural elements, lockers will be madeavailable to the vendor on a self-servicing basis and at the same timethe provision is made so that the renter can have access only to his ownlocker which will be key controlled.

In the past few years there has been a tremendous increase in the use ofcold storage lockers by individual families. They find it convenient tofreeze and thus store products of their own time or garden, and it isalso found economical to buy whole animals, or of the larger of these tobuy one-half, which is cut and wrapped in useable packages and thenstored away for future use. A person, viewing the field of lockerarrangements as employed today, will be impressed with the wide range ofconstructions that are at present in use. This is a definite indicationthat the best plan for general use has not yet been determined. In thepast the most effective efilcient system for cold storage lockers was toprovide, in a single building, a large number of compartments, usuallyseparated from each other by open-work framing, and to maintain thetemperature of the entire large room at a necessarily very low freezingtemperature. This provided great economy in over-all construction inthat only the outer walls of the large room need be fully in-. sulatedand the various individual lockers were without insulation. They proved,however, to be objectionable from many points of view. First of all, theperson putting goods in their locker, or taking material out from thesame, were subjected to the very low freezing temperatures forconsiderable periods. Many persons cannot accept these low temperatureswithout being adequately and necessarily heavily clothed. Then too, thestorage lockers normally being in a building by themselves, requiredeither additional parking facilities with the attendant extra stock bythe users of the establishment, or the users must carry the cold frozenproducts to their car or point of collection of other foods. A preferredsolution appears to be that of combining the frozen food locker with astore having either general groceries or possibly just meats, orpreferably a combination of them, such as is commonly referred to as aSuper- Market, and under such conditions to have the lockers readilyavailable to the patron without the necessity of getting into a lowtemperature room. This type of equipment is normally referred to as warmroom storage lockers.

This present invention comprehends an improved form of the warm roomstorage locker. Of the various warm room lockers observed in the past,they have generally been characterized by constructions that made itmandatory that they be largely assembled in the producing factory, andthen transportation to the point of installation and the physical movingof the same into the point of use normally occasioned the removal ofportions of the walls, or the like, so that the bulky units could beinstalled. In this present invention it is believed that this fault ofmany of the formsof existing equipment has been overcome, and a unithaving a large number of lockers can be transported in small sectionsand readily fitted into a store room through the normal doors providedin the same.

A great many of the warm room lockers available at present may belikened to the home refrigerator, in that for a given cubical content alarge amount of surrounding insulation material is required, and to giveadequate access expensive insulated doors are required for a relativelysmall storage capacity. This general plan is a wide departure from thecold storage locker room where each individual storage space did notrequire its own insulation. The majority of the warm room lockersobserved have made'it necessary to employ such a large amount ofenclosing insulation and structure as to bring the cost per cubic footof the warm room locker up to a level that prices the same out ofgeneral use. In this present invention it is believed that means areprovided for overcoming the excessive expense per cubic foot of warmroom storage lockers.

The principal object of this present invention, therefore, is to providea warm room storage locker so constructed that the unit price per squarefoot of storage space can be greatly reduced so that it can comparefavorably and economically with the large locker rooms wherein theuninsulated lockers are disposed in a cold room.

A further object of this invention is to provide means whereby theexpensive access doors with their attendant fittings can be reduced to aminimum so that pricing or rentals of the finished units can be keptwell within the range acceptable to the average family budget.

A further object of this invention is to provide a builtup bank of warmroom storage lockers each piece of which is relatively small so that itcan be easily handled, easily transported and easily entered in throughthe ordinary access doors in the building.

A further object of this invention is to provide that a single accessdoor can be made to serve a large number of storage compartments to theend that the over-all cost will be kept to a minimum.

A further object of this invention is to provide means whereby, with aminimum of expense in structure, the individual locker renter will atall times have access to his locker but will be effectively deniedaccess to any other lockers.

A further object of this invention is to provide a bat tery of foodstorage lockers which can be enclosed with the minimum of insulatingmaterial so that the over-all cost of the unit can, in many cases, bereduced below the cost of similar storage space in the warm room p an.

A further object of this invention provides a battery of frozen foodlockers so arranged that the great bulk of the locker assembly can beplaced in a room, such as a storage room adjoining a place of business,and have the access doors located within the grocery store or butchershop and in this way use a very minimum of the organized existing floorspace of the store yet give the customers and renters the convenience ofselecting their frozen foods from their own locker at the same time theyare purchasing the balance of food required for a periodic food supply.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from thedescription and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended orare inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of an embodiment of my self-service coldstorage locker, with a portion of the cabinet broken awayrevealingcompartments formed in the interior;

Figure 2 is a plan view as taken from above in Figure 1, a portion ofthe cabinet being broken away;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a sidewall unit positionedon a base unit, enlarged, with portions broken away revealing the innerconstruction of said units;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary View, enlarged and partly in section, showingthe means of joining together two adjoining sidewall units;

arcane Figure 5 is a perspective view of members forming the base andtrack in my locker, inexploded form;

Figure 6 is a view taken on line 6--6 of Figure 2, partly in section;

Figure 7 is a perspective; view of food containers to be used in mylocker;

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of an electrical circuit and associatedparts, which, upon selection of a locker compartment, rotates theshelvingiunit until said compartment in line with the appropriate doorand release said door; and

Figure; 9: is an enlarged perspective View of: a portion of-the lockerselection panel, cut to' show details of one key=operated selector;

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, cabinet I2 has the general form of anupright cylinder. The sides oi cabinet- 12, in this embodiment of myinvention, are made in eight units, six sidewall units 14-bein'gidentical and door unit 16 and: an outwardly exte ding cooling unit 118being of thesame widthso that each unit covers one-eighth of; thesidesurface ot? cabinet 12. Three base units 20 form the bottom ofcabinet- 12 and three cover units 22 form the top of cabinet 12} Theouter base unitsand outer coverunits are identical and the center baseunit and center cover unit are identical except that the center coverunit has a passageway for shaft 24/;

The interchangeability of the units of cabinet 12 is desirabletosimplify the' manufacture of the cabinet, this making, a greaternumber ofidentical partsfor mass productionof the same and-making] fewerkinds of units to assemble. Throughout the design of my locker I haveemployed relatively small units so that they may be, handled. with easeand moved through even'small doorways to alocation at which they are tobe used; the units being adapted to rapid assembly at the location wherethey are to be used.

Typical construction oftheunits of cabinet 12 is shown fFigure 3;Sidewall unit 14ha's side members 26,; one having tongue 28 and theother' having groove 30'. Tongue 28 and groove 30-of' adjacent, sidemembers 26 are. held" together as by'bolts 32",, havingjwashers 34 011either side; as is' shown inEigure'. 4. Access to boltsi32 is obtainedbyopenings 36' in inner wall 37,. there being cover plates 38" for saidopenings. Uprights 40 are spaced between side members, 2 6: andstringers 42 tie the vertical: members together; Inner wall 37' andouter wall 414 are preferablymade. at, water-resistant plywood andsecured to the adjacent members. Member 46 forms the, toplot sidewallunit 14 and member 48'forms the; bottom, Insulating material and;mpervious vapor seals are placed} in the hollowinterior,,andfform-a-barrier to v transfer offbeat and moisture in,sidewall unit 1 except at the extreme, margin of the, unit and? at thecrossing of uprights 40 and stringers 42 Where the low conductivity,of,wood must be depended upon; The'tongue and grooye joinder of.adjacent sidewall units 14 serves to hinder" transfer of heat, it being'preferable-to have sealingtmaterial' such as caulking at this'point.

Holes, as at 50, are uniformly spaced on-members 46 and 48 to securesidewall, unit 14 to cover; units 22: and basennits 20. as. by, bolts52, access to bolts 52 being obtainedthrough openings in sidewall. unitv14 and base unit120. Said. openings are covered; by cover plates-54secured as by screws. Base=units-20 and cover; units 22 have holesuniformly spaced corresponding to: holes 50. in sidewall units;14- sothatsa-id-units may. be combined in any manner, there beingvsii'nilarholes indoorunit-16. and cooling unit 18I8.- Battens59 at the joinderof; sidewall units 14' to cover units 22 and base units: 20 serve tocover the joint and assists in positioning theunits.

Base units20 have tongues 60 and grooves 62 intadjacent walls and areconnected" together as by bolts 63. Ijoists= 66' space inner wall 64"and outer wall, 68 apart and thecavity is filledwith insulating materialand vapor. barriers are provided.

Door unit- 161 has aplurality of doors 69, one door for each level" ofcompartments 70. compartment selectors; 72", one reeeach; compartment,are-- setin door unit 16, operation of said selector s72" beingdescribed in more detail later; Doors 69" are hing edly connected todoor unit 56 and have locking-means on the other side operable remotelyby compartment selectors 72? A plurality, of"

1 ,137,- Frgure 9 shows a section of the'door panel'lfihaving a seriesof key operated selectors 72A, each to be operated by a separate key;as- 73; The selectors 72A may have essentially the same mechanisms asthe ordinary automobile ignition switch and each has a plurality ofelectrical leads for connection to the remainder of the electricalcontrol system.

A most desirable feature of my self-service cold storage locker ishaving only one" banlt'of doors 69. Compartments 70 are serviced byrotation to a position in line with said doors. In any warm room lockermuch heat is lost around doors, yet many lockers previously constructedhave had a dooffof each compartment. Also, a door is arelativelyexpensive, item; and involves complex insulations and sealing means.Little air can pass to other compartments when one door is open to itsassociated compartment, the walls of the compartment being quite closeto doors 69, as can be seen from Figure 2. Suitable rubber flanges onthe inside of the door openings further seat selected: compartment Beingor the saiiie width as sidewall units 14; door unit 16 may be positionedahy place around the Clifcumference oficabi-iiet" 12: It" maybeconsidered desirable i'n certain stores th'a t an oscabin'et 12, exceptdoor unit 16,. becQneeaIed: behind await, Again, it may be considereddesirable only'that do'oi' unit 16 and cooling unit 18' be open to Viewin which case they may be po'sitioned side by side"; and the r'e's't ofcabinet 12' covered;

Cooling unit 1 8;, fem-ring a cold air supply, has openings at theinner'top at 74 and at the inner bottom at 76 for passage of air to andfrominside cabinet 12. A- blower 80 is'jpositioned the upperportion ofcooling unit-1t? and=may b'e-o'f any eonve'nti'onal type and-powered byelectricity. Door 82 affords access to blower 80; Refrigerant coils" 84*areposit'ioned below blower 80 and connected to a source of; refrigerantnot depicted-.- Space is provided-for a quick freeze-area either aboveor below refrigerant coils 84, asat 8.6,- the're" being a door 88aflordingaccess to this; area.- 7 Cooling unit 18 may be positioned atany point around the circumference of cabinet 1-2-.

A rotatable shelving unit, having a generally upright cylindricaloutline, with a plurality of storage compartmoms-70;. is formed. by the"following: means. A. circular base 89 is; mounted; rollers 9l0which areset on circ'ulartracks 92i ireular tracks 92 are positioned on baseunits-20', there beingtwo stfch tracks depicted in Figuresriand, 6;onepnearthe' outer edge of compart ments 70- andl one spaced therefrom;In, this position: the Wt'aig v ttdf food: in compartments 70'isdirectly supported facilitate-rotation or base 88-;

I ShafhZ, thereto, byf'smtablemeans: asi'by havinga flanged sleeve 94see on; the? end" of; shaft 24* and having bolts" or screws passing; ughthe flange and base 82-2 A. second flanged sleeve" 9,6?"isi, rIotatablyriountcd on shaft" 24" and secured toitheinner: side'ofgthe centralcover unit 22. Shaft 24 carries: a bevel gear- 98 at: its. upper end;and" an electric motor 19,03 is, positioned: on cover" unit 22 at. oneside, there bein a b'evelj gear 102' on the; motor. shaft connectingwithb vet gear 98; Shaft 24 sh'ould" either be made ormaterialihaving'; a'low conductivity factor or suitable couplings should be, provided:topreve'nt the'conductin'g' of heatifithe'shaft; Upongactivationofelectric motor shaft" 24% rotates and compartments. 70 are moved; Acover. 1'03fin'1a'y be used? to protect these. parts and con- 10.4 are,positione on; base 89. p s r-mew on" Brackets 1'08? of a" general 'pehorizontally. Between partitions. 1'04, forming colmpa'rtm'cnts'flfl.shelves-.105 are 'ciutfofi attheir apex to permit? circulation of air atthe, center of compartments 70. It is desirablelt'ojhave some form ofcontainer for mat'erialto' be" st'o'redin compartments 70; In Figure 7'is. depicted a setof threerwire. baskets offa size and shapetogether;-to"fi t' iri; compartment 70. The. baskets ll'tlfatfordimeansofs egatiiiglmaterialiin compartments deachwilhnot 1e veryheavyz'. A.lip l-l2onrthe 'f'shel 106. provides: means to prevent v frm'c'drti'ifig-O ofcompartmentsm durin rotation; nil, gjing. a'g st'sidj'ewall'funits 14.

It can; be? seen" that, the, c mpannrents 70' are arranged iirvertical"and'horiiontalirows; therebeing a door 69 for each horizontalroWand-ith compartments being rotate permitting; any (critical? rowto bepositiohcfi if) Iine said" Now will be described the means whereby acustomer may select his compartment, this being the self-service featureof my invention. The customers compartment may be at any location andmeans must be provided by which the compartments 70 are rotated untilthe customers compartment is lined up with doors 69 and the door 69corresponding to said compartment released. At the same time, thecustomer must not be able to obtain access to any other compartment. I

' There is a compartment selector 72 for eachcompartment, as recitedbefore. These selectors 72 should be in the form of locks with separatekeys for each, as it is desirable that a customer only be able tooperate one selector. Simple push-button selectors could be utilized ifthe storage locker is to be operated by an employee.

Referring to Figure 8, a schematic diagram of an electrical circuit andassociated parts to be activated by said selectors 72 is depicted. Thisis a simplified example in that only eight compartments, withcorresponding switches 1A; 1B; 1C;'1D; 2A; 2B; 2C; and 2D, are involved,four being compartments on a level with door and solenoid 114A and fouron a level with door and solenoid 114B.

A solenoid 114A, 114B is associated with each door to release theassociated door upon selection of a compartment on that level. Adouble-pole, single-pull switch is associated with each compartmentselector 72, to be closed upon operation of the associated selector 72.

Taking the example that the compartment corresponding to switch 1A isselected, as by inserting a key in the associated selector, thisdouble-pole switch 1A is closed. Current from the source of electricityat 118, 110 or 220 volt A. C., is free to pass through line 120, pastswitches 121 which are only open when the doors are open, through motor122, through the cam-operated switch 124 associated with the verticaltier of compartments in which the selected compartment is located,through line 126, through double-pole switch 1A, back to the source at118.

In passing through motor 122, the same is activated and rotates. Motor122 carries a gear 127 engaged with a gear 129 fixedly positioned onshaft 24, and said shaft is rotated moving compartments 70. Also fixedlymounted on shaft 24 is cam 128 which operates cam-operated switches 124as it passes.

As shaft 24 is rotated, cam 128 reaches the cam-operated switch 124associated with the tier of compartments in which the selectedcompartment is located. Switch 124 is normally held in an inwardposition by spring means; but, upon cam 128 moving the same outward,switch 124 makes contact with line 130. Current is no longer free topass through motor 122; and cam 128 maintains its position, the motorhaving an automatic elgctric brake which acts when power to the motor iscut Current now passes from the source at 118, past the double-poleswitch 1A, through line 132, past solenoid 114A, through line 130, pastcam-operated switch 124, through line 126, past double-pole switch 1A,back to the source at 118. The associated door is released when thecurrent passes through solenoid 114A and solenoid 114A also opens one ofthe switches 121. The purpose of the switch at 121 is to prevent theselection mechanism being activated by the insertion of another key in acompartment selector 72 while one of the doors is open, and perhapsinjuring a customer who has his arm in his compartment. The selectedcompartment being in line with the doors and solenoid 114A releasing thedoor on the correct level, the customer now has access to hiscompartment.

The cam 128, gear 129, motor and cam-operated switches are enclosed in ahousing positioned on cover unit 22, indicated at 134 in Figure 6.

As can be seen, I have provided a thoroughly automatic self-servicingselector system, whereby the operator may have access to only thecompartment to which he has the key. A minimum of expensive doorconstruction is involved in my locker and the cabinet is very wellinsulated except in the door area. The temperature of other compartmentsis little affected by the servicing of one compartment. This has beenprovided in a warm room locker fabricated from easily portable smallunits. The locker is suitable for use in various commercialestablishments without providing additional facilities to house coldstorage lockers and does not require employee supervision. The locker isrelatively economical of construction and maintenance and presents anattractive appearance. A minimum of floor area is occupied by thelocker.

Having thus described my self-service cold storage locker, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may bemade without departing from the scope of my invention, and it is myintention to claim all structures within the proper scope of myinvention.

I claim:

1. In a self-service cold storage locker of the type having a cabinetand a shelving unit positioned in the cabinet to rotate about a verticalaxis, the shelving unit being divided horizontally and vertically intorows of wedgeshaped storage compartments, the improvement, comprising:the sidewalls of said cabinet being formed by a series of separablesidewall units of equal width which join one another on vertical lines,several of said sidewall units being identical, one sidewall unitforming a door unit having a separate door for each layer of storagecompartments, independent latching means on each door, an electric motorand means connecting said motor to said shelving unit to rotate thesame, an electrical control system having a selector corresponding toeach storage compartment, said control system being connected to saidlatching means and to said motor and being operative to rotate saidshelving unit upon selection of a compartment by its selector until theselected compartment is aligned with its door and unlatching only thedoor of the layer in which the selected compartment is located, wherebyaccess is afforded to but the single compartment selected by itsassociated selector, and a switch, operated by each door, in saidcontrol system operative to inactivate said motor when said doors areopen.

2. In a self-service cold storage locker of the type having a cabinetand a shelving unit positioned in the cab inet to rotate about avertical axis, the shelving unit being divided horizontally andvertically into rows of wedge-shaped storage compartments, theimprovement, comprising: the sidewalls of said cabinet being formed byat least six separable sidewall units of equal width which join oneanother on vertical lines and extend from top to bottom of the cabinet,said sidewall units being identical except for one forming a door unitand one forming a cooling unit having an outer extension con taining asource of cold air, said door unit having a separate door for each layerof storage compartments, independent latching means on each door, saidcabinet having a floor formed by a series of separable chordal floorunits, said cabinet having a ceiling formed by a series of separablechordal ceiling units, an electric motor and means connecting said motorto said shelving unit to rotate the same, an electrical control systemhaving a key-operated selector corresponding to each storagecompartment, said control system being connected to said latching meansand to said motor and being operative to rotate said shelving unit uponselection of a compartment by its selector until the selectedcompartment is aligned with its door and unlatching only the door of thelayer in which the selected compartment is located, whereby access isafforded to but the single compartment selected by its associatedselector.

3. In a self-service cold storage locker of the type having a cabinetand a shelving unit positioned in the cabinet to rotate about a verticalaxis, the shelving unit being divided horizontally and vertically intorows of wedge-shaped storage compartments, the improvement, comprising:the sidewalls of said cabinet including a vertical row of doorsincluding a separate door for each layer of storage compartments,independent latching means on each door, an electric motor and meansconnecting said motor to said shelving unit to rotate the same, and anelectrical control system for said locker having a selectorcorresponding to each storage compartment, said control system beingconnected to said latching means and to said motor and being operativeto rotate said shelving unit upon selection of a compartment by itsselector until the selected compartment is aligned with its door andunlatching only the door of the layer in which the selected compartmentis located, whereby access is afforded to but the single compartmentselected by its associated selector.

4. In a self-service cold storage locker of the type having a cabinetand a shelving unit positioned in the cabinet to rotate about a verticalaxis, the shelving unit be- QW IEWQ shapecfsmrageompanmentathe-Bripmvement; com mis.- M "Z'TT mg; the' sidewalls of saidcabinet; includin gaa semfiate PATEBIIQ door for eadh layer of storage.compartments, independent; 112164 1, Ma a; Tune 20,- 1816,-

latching; means-0n each doom; an ,eleafiri"e motor and 5?; 1,489,431} lgand-1n means connecting said-mot on to said shelving-unit to ray 25195;0801 Ryfiflldaon Apr. ,2; i940" tate the same, andram electric; controlvsystem for said Z ZOLAR- May 21', 1 940 locker having a key-operatedselector corresponding to zfili flfifiil B'Hird Qct; 1940 each storagecompartment, said control system being-con- 2,245,300 Ruttan' June 10;19 41; nested tosaid latehing meansand-tasaid-motor and be- 10? 2 21-9558; Elem: Apr. 14,, 1-942 ing-operat'ive to-rofiate said-"shelving-unit up nselection 233 g Mullen Sept.- 12; B944" of a compartmenhbyiits selector anti-L- the seleetedcor'n- 2,4 6.2 1-);braharnson:- Mar.25,, 1942' partmenfis alignedwithgitszdoor and-unlatching only-2-,484;,894 Lindsay: a.. Oct: 18';- 1-949 door of the layez inwhichjhewelected compartment;

1ocated,-,whereby aecesslis aflolide'dr to but tkie single em- 16partment selected by its associateetselector.

